Passing Grace
by Romantic Pessimist
Summary: Tales of Commander Penny Shepard and co. ME1. Alert, Shenko fluff incoming. Rated T for occasional language.
1. Coffee

COFFEE – "Oh, you're a biotic."

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Kaidan Alenko knelt in front of his locker, tucking his armor away. He paused to glance around the deck, a smile appearing on his face. He'd been on quite a few ships in his career, but already he liked this one. The pilot was a bit ornery, but likable enough, and the few members of the crew that he had met were polite at least. Plus the lighting was perfect, just enough for him to see but not enough to trigger a migraine.

A gentle humming brought his attention to a woman strolling through the mess. Her red hair bounced as she walked, something Kaidan found rather disorienting, and her BDU was spattered with a black grease of mysterious origin. She smiled at him, tune forgotten. "Hi."

"Hello."

"Name's Penny."

He shook her hand. "Kaidan Alenko. Nice to meet you."

"You too." She tapped the keypad on her locker, dropping a duffel inside unceremoniously.

Kaidan discreetly rolled his eyes. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your shirt?"

She plucked the hem of her shirt and inspected the black-spotted blue material, as though it was the first time she had seen it. "Oh, that. I was taking a look at the Mako. Can't wait to take that for a spin." She strode to the kitchen, rooting through the cupboards. "Where's the coffee, where's the- there it is!" As she poured water into the dispenser she glanced back at him. "Do you want some?"

"No, thanks."

"Just don't like the stuff?"

He hesitated briefly. "I can't drink it."

She frowned for the briefest of seconds. "Oh, you're a biotic." He'd expected ridicule or disgust, or even a put-out scowl; to his surprise, she grinned. "Man, you must feel like a space mage, being able to throw people around." She leaned forward, a conspiratorial glint in her violet eyes. "You're not gonna turn me into a toad, are you?"

"It crossed my mind," he admitted after a moment.

She laughed. "Well, if you decide to turn me into a toad, give me a heads up first."

"Will do."

Still chuckling, she turned back to the brewing coffee. Kaidan shook his head and closed his locker before moving to leave the mess. He halted quickly and snapped to a salute as the captain entered the room. "Sir."

Penny, in the process of pouring coffee into a mug, swiftly followed suit. She hissed a curse as black liquid splashed on the counter. "Aw, s***."

Captain Anderson chuckled. "At ease. Getting acquainted with the crew, Shepard?"

Kaidan halted, glancing back at Penny, who was now patting a towel against the still-steaming coffee spill. "Doing my best, sir."

The crew roster suddenly appeared in his mind. Near the top were the officers: Anderson, Pressley, Adams, and a Commander Shepard.

_Aw s*** indeed._

He left the mess hall with surprising speed, mounting the steps as Shepard's laugh reached his ears. His feet carried him across the CIC and into the bridge, where Joker sat at his station, seemingly bored.

"I'm screwed," Kaidan announced.

"Hey, Alenko," Joker greeted, never taking his eyes off the console.

He began to pace, wringing his hands. "Will she take it personally?"

"No, I'm not busy. Just keeping the ship in the air, doesn't take any effort."

He stopped pacing and arched a brow. "So you don't want to hear about how I may have just flushed my career down the drain in one conversation with our XO?"

Joker halted his work and turned his gaze to the lieutenant. "You have my attention."

"I was putting my things away and she came into the mess. I didn't know who she was, so I didn't salute. She started talking to me, and when I confirmed that I was a biotic, she called me a space mage."

The pilot chuckled. "Cute. And?"

"Then she asked me, jokingly, if I was going to turn her into a toad." Kaidan sat down in the co-pilot's station, running a hand through his hair. "And I said that I had considered it."

A grin split Joker's face. "Oh no."

"Yeah."

"You told Commander Shepard that you were thinking about turning her into a toad. Alenko, do yourself a favor – go to the armory, get a gun, and shoot yourself."

Kaidan buried his face in his hands. Why had he come up here again?

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><p>Author's Notes –<p>

Okay, those of you who've read my previous work, you might recognize Penny Shepard. It occurred to me that writing her ME2 exploits before her ME1 adventures was more than a little odd, so MofLS is on hiatus until this is done; hopefully I'll finish before ME3 comes out.


	2. Kay Eye Ess Ess

Kay Eye Ess Ess - "What?"

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Shepard stepped into the head, humming as she went. As she riffled through her toiletry bag for her toothbrush, she chuckled at the memory of a conversation with Ashley. Or more specifically the ending. _"You say kiss a turian, I ask which cheek." _

She commenced with her nightly hygiene ritual, trying not to laugh at the thought of Ash kissing Garrus. "I'd amosh pay 'o shee 'at."

The door slid open and Garrus cautiously peered in, visibly relaxing at the sight of only Shepard. "Commander."

She waved briefly. "Hay, Garrush."

He cocked his head to the side, blinking quizzically. "What are you doing?"

"Bushin mai 'eesh."

"What?"

She spat a mouthful of blue foam into the sink. "Brushing my teeth. It's how we keep our mouths clean."

"…okay."

"Don't turians clean their mouths?"

"Not like that."

She grinned, running the brush under the tap for a moment. "What do you need?"

"I have a question, but if this is a bad time-"

"Not at all."

Garrus took a breath, as though mentally steeling himself. "What is the significance of a kiss?"

Shepard froze in the middle of closing her bag, turning to frown at him. "Context?"

"Well, I was just in the mess hall when Williams walked up to me-"

"Wait, Ash kissed you?"

"Yes."

"Left cheek?"

"Yes, how-" Garrus cocked his head at her sudden bubble of laughter. "Commander?"

"It was a joke! I didn't think she'd actually do it!"

"You'll have to explain that one."

"She wanted to talk to me, asked some questions about the operations. I asked her if she had an issue with how things were going, and she told me not to worry about it. Her exact words were 'If you say jump, I say how high. If you say kiss a turian-'"

"She asks which cheek," Garrus finished. "Now I get it."

"And I, thinking it was a golden opportunity, said left. I didn't think she'd actually kiss you."

"I think I understand."

"I'm sorry. I'll talk to her about it."

She stepped out of the head, zeroing in on the culprit sitting in the mess hall. Ashley blinked in surprise as Shepard wagged a chiding finger. "Shame on you, confusing our poor turian buddy like that."

Ashley shrugged. "Orders are orders, ma'am."

"It was a joke, Ash."

"Oh." She cast Garrus a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"It's alright, though I'd appreciate it if you never did it again."

"Sounds good to me."

Shepard refrained from rolling her eyes. Barely. "Well, if you two are finished riling the crew, I am going to bed."

"Good night, Commander," Ashley called after her.

She held in her laughter until reaching the safety of her cabin. "D***, I missed it! What is that, a once in a lifetime thing? I doubt anyone had a camera..."

She darted to her terminal, hailing the security chief on the comm.

"_Commander. Something you need?_"

"Yeah, if you could get me the vid feed for the lower deck security cameras for the past," she glanced at the clock, "two hours, I'll give you a three day pass."

"_It'll be at your terminal in ten, ma'am!_"

Shepard leaned back in her chair, unable to keep a grin off her face. Just ten minutes, and all it cost was a three day pass!

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><p>Author's Notes -<p>

Sorry, no Kaidan in this chapter. Wanted to cement Penny's personality.


	3. Dance

DANCE - "Promise?"

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Kaidan knelt beside the glowing orange interface, prying away a section of plating to look at the workings inside. He was off-duty, but the display's focus was off; a barely perceptible problem to passersby, but something he noticed almost instantly, thanks to his low-key migraine.

Tweak that setting, readjust that wire, make sure he hadn't crossed anything. He looked up at the display, smiling as the output cleared. Much better.

Someone tapped on his shoulder. "Alenko."

He looked up at his visitor, a bit surprised to see her. "Commander."

She shifted slightly, as if uncomfortable. "Can you dance?"

Kaidan blinked. "Dance?"

"Yeah. Specifically waltz."

"Yes. Why?"

"Come with me."

Closing the panel, he rose and followed her into her quarters. She waited until the doors closed to fill him in. "I've been invited to some kind of gala, ball, whatever formal event. As humanity's first Spectre, I have to show up."

"You'd think they'd realize you have more important concerns."

She smiled ruefully. "Tell me about it. Anyway, Anderson tells me there will be dancing and I will be expected to participate."

"And you don't know how to dance?"

"Oh, I can dance," she disputed. "Just not waltz. Could you teach me?"

"I could do that, sure."

"Great. How do we start?"

Kaidan thought for a moment, looking around the room. From what he saw, either she wasn't used to so much space or that she had few personal belongings. The room was clear of all clutter, though he got the feeling that was more out of default than habit. Just a table, terminal set by the wall, and a neatly made bed. "First, let's move this table out of the way."

Together they pushed the table against the wall, leaving a clear stretch of space. He moved over to the terminal, pausing. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all."

He tapped a few keys, pulling up an old recording from the extranet; a soft medley of piano and violins filled the room as he turned back to her. "Alright. Erm, do I have permission to lay hands on you, Commander?"

She snickered, biting back a grin. "Granted."

"Good. I'd hate to be court-martialed for this."

"Teaching your CO how to dance is hardly a court-martial offense."

"You never know. Place your left hand on my shoulder. Just like that. Your right hand goes in my left, like so."

"What about your right hand?"

"That goes," he gently placed his hand on her waist, "here."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah."

"What if the guy gets fresh? And don't say slap him, that doesn't work."

Kaidan pondered that. "I suppose you could shoot him."

"Shoot him?"

"Politely," he clarified.

She laughed again. "Alright, now what?"

"You, Commander, have to follow my lead for once."

"Oh, fun."

"There are only three steps, try to stay on the beat." He waited briefly, listening to the music. "One."

She stepped back as he moved forward.

"Two."

As one they stepped to the side.

"Three."

Feet together.

"One."

He stepped back, guiding her forward. Then to the side and feet together. They repeated the steps a few times, she counting the beats with him. After the fifth repetition she frowned. "And that's it?"

"That's it."

"Nothing else to do?"

"Well, you can talk to each other."

"Then let's talk."

"Alright." They stepped to the side and Kaidan selected a topic. "I wanted to apologize."

She frowned. "For what?"

"You remember our conversation about space mages?"

The frown melted into a bright grin. "Oh right, you considered turning me into a toad! No need to apologize, Alenko, it was funny."

"Alright."

She frowned when he didn't speak for a moment. "What is it?"

"Just thinking. When I joined the Alliance, they promised adventure and action." He gave a wry smile. "They never said anything about teaching your CO to dance."

"I can dance," she insisted. "Just not waltz."

"I was going to ask what you mean by that."

"Before I enlisted, I danced a lot. Street dancing mostly, where they set the hat out hoping for spare credits. It paid the bills until I enlisted."

"You must have been good."

"Good enough to get by."

"Why not try to make a career out of dancing?"

"Well, my one goal at the time was 'get off Earth'. Alliance seemed like the quickest way to do that. Before I knew it, it was a career."

"Do you ever regret it?"

"Not usually. Every now and then I wonder what things might've been like, but I've got a good life. You?"

"No regrets."

With a click the music shut off, prompting a pout from Shepard. "Aw darn. I was having fun."

Kaidan smiled as he took a step back, releasing her hand. "Do you need any help with the table?"

"Nah, I've got it. You go on."

"Alright." He headed for the door, his mind slowly wrapping around the thought that he'd spent five minutes teaching his CO to dance.

"Kaidan."

He stopped at the door and looked back, surprised by the informality. She smiled. "Thanks. I owe you."

"Anytime, Commander."

The smile shifted to a smirk. "Promise?"

"I'm not going there."

Her laughter followed him out.


End file.
